Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: jasonulloa 
Darien and Serena's lunch "date"....
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.14.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 494 | Status: Completed
Darien and Serena's lunch "date"....
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.14.2003 | Pages: 5 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 494 | Status: Completed
Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.
Chapter 7
Darien strode to his car, feeling quite pleased with himself.
He had made a good impression on both Amy and Melvin. He
opened the door, slid in and closed it. As his hand reached
for the belt over his left should, it paused as a stray thought
came to mind.
Serena Moon had stormed off as if she was angry at him. Of
course, that wasn't anything new, but she had stormed off
before commenting on his first scene, at least to him. He had
received a second-hand complement from her, delivered by
Amy, but it seemed to have been edited of its content. Perhaps
the compliment was given backhandedly in the middle of another
slight on his part. He sighed. Would she never be satisfied?
Was she going to stay mad at him during the entire shoot?
Forever? If he was going to get any peace during the time he
would be working with Serena, he had to make amends...
somehow.
A flash of a white convertable crossed his rearview mirror; twin
blonde ponytails flying in the breeze as Serena drove off the
set. Without thinking, Darien finished buckling his seat belt and
started the car. He backed up, straightened the wheel, and
proceeded to follow the white convertable... at a safe following
distance, of course. No need to show her that someone was
following.
After a short stop at the security gate to show the guard that
he now had his temporary ID card, he was out on the main
street, tailing Serena with four cars between them at all times.
As an added percaution, he wore a pair of thin-wire sunglasses,
which he always left in his car. If she were to glance back at
him when there were no cars between them, a short glance
wouldn't give him away... or, at least he hoped it wouldn't.
A few minutes later, Serena's car stopped at one of the most
expensive restaurants in the city. Darien grimaced at her
choice of dining establishments; he could barely afford to eat
there, that is, if he could manage to get in. The reservation list
was usually full.
Serena walked over to the entrance, paused, and turned toward
his car and flashed him a triumphant smile. She knew. More than
likely, she knew all along. Damn. Grumbling under his breath, he
opened the door and stepped out. As soon as he did, she folded
her arms and frowned as she stared at him.
He blinked in surprise. Was she actually waiting for him? Before
he could take one step toward her, she tossed her head, her
ponytails whipping about like a pair of whips, and stalked inside.
Darien quickly ran after her.
"Wait!" he called as he burst through the door. Serena was just
being shown to her usual table as he came in. Before he could
follow, the maître d' stopped him short.
"Reservation?" he asked in a haughty voice. Fleetingly, Darien
wondered if all maître d's of high-class restaurants were required
to speak in such an annoying voice.
"Um... yes," Darien lied, pointing a finger at a random name on
the reservation list with barely a glance. "See there it is. Now, if
you'll excuse me, I must speak with Miss Moon...." He tried to
walk past him, but failed when he caught Darien by his arm.
"Really?" the maître d' asked in an amused tone. "Well, 'Miss
Patricia Deveraux', you've certainly changed since the last time
I've seen you," he continued in a condesending tone. "Would you like
to try another name... sir?"
"This one?" Darien asked, picking another name - male, this time.
"That gentleman is already seated at table 27."
"This one?"
"Table 4."
"This one?"
"Mr. Masterson has grey in his hair."
"This one?"
"Mr. Tomas is a blonde."
"This one?"
"Alex Winters? No, that would be Miss Alexandra Winters to
you."
Darien was growing impatient. One quick glance over his shoulder
at Serena's face showed that she was enjoying every minute of
this. Perhaps she asked the maître d' to give him a hard time. No
wonder he hadn't thrown him out yet. "This one?"
"That's my brother." He gave Darien a small grin. "You're lucky
you're not as ugly as he is."
"All right, then," Darien sighed, reaching into his pocket.
"Perhaps you recognize the name...." He paused to glance
down at which dollar bills he had pulled out. He knew he had a
ten, some twenties, and a fifty, but he forgot what order they
were in. As soon as he saw which bill he had pulled out, he
glanced up at the maître d' and opened his mouth to speak.
"It's all right, Stephan," Serena said, now standing next to Darien
and smirking at him, "he's with me... for now."
"As you wish, Miss Moon," Stephan replied stiffly, obviously
upset that he was cheated out of a gratuity.
"Don't think I did this just so you'd get out of bribing Stephan,"
Serena said sternly as she and Darien went to her table. As soon
as she sat down, she gave him a mischevious, cat-like grin. "You'll
need your money. After all, this is an expensive restaurant you're
treating me to."
"Wh... WHAT?!?" Darien blurted out incredulously as he sat down
hard at the table.
Serena's grin widened. "Why else would you be following me?"
she asked, waving her hand nonchalantly. "By the way, those
shades couldn't fool a six year-old," she said with a derisive smirk.
She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her
chest, giving him a measuring glance with one eyebrow raised as
Darien shiften uncomfortably in his chair. "Seriously, though," she
said in a normal, questioning tone, "why did you follow me? I would
think you'd want to stay far away from me as possible. I know I'd
prefer that, though I must admit, I'm curious as to the reason why
you did."
Darien swallowed and cleared his throat before he began. She
raised an eyebrow at that, as if she was annoyed at the action.
"Well, Miss Moon, first of all, I wanted to apologize for what
happened the first time we met...." He grimaced at the angry
tightening of her eyes as she very well knew what he was talking
about. The waiter assigned to the table walked up, took one look
at Serena, and decided to come back later. Darien didn't blame
him; right now, he didn't want to be there, either.
"I really didn't get a chance to apologize for almost completely
ruining your dress before I was... asked to leave." Thrown off,
was more like it. "I do intend to make it up to you."
"How?" she asked, her tightly controlled anger evident in her cool
voice.
He took a deep breath and sighed mentally. She wasn't going to
forgive him easily, but for the sake of not having to go through a
living hell for at least the next two weeks, this had to be done.
Besides, he felt he owed this to her. He had to set things right or
he'd never have any peace... especially not with her.
"By whatever reasonable means you decide," he simply stated.
Serena blinked in surprise, though she kept her expression neutral.
'Why is he doing this?' she wondered, considering the dark-haired,
blue-eyed man sitting in front of him. 'Why is he willing to do all this
just to earn my forgiveness? Did I really scare him THAT much?'
She paused in her thoughts. "That couldn't be it. I've done worse to
others and they've never done anything for me. Does he really think
I'm going to ride him during the whole two weeks?' Another pause.
'Well, I did want him to think that, didn't I? Maybe I'm being a little too
hard on him. But, still, that's no reason for me to go easy on him,
either. Especially since I've been forced to have him play opposite
of me.' She paused again, studying the slightly apprehensive way
he was looking everywhere except at her. 'But maybe, I think I'll
lighten up... just a little.'
"Okay, Shields," she answered finally. Darien turned his attention
back towards her. "I'll accept that offer. I won't decide right away
how you'll make it up to me, but I'll will let you know when I decide.
Are we agreed on that?"
"Yes," he said in a very relieved voice. "Agreed."
"Was that all you had to say?" she asked.
"No, there's more," he replied. "I also wanted to know why you're
so angry at me. I mean, ruining a designer dress seems to me to
be such a small thing to be so upset about...." He stopped short as
the fierce angry glare returned.
The waiter had returned again, carrying a pair of menus in his arm.
He noted Serena's expression, stopped, and turned back again,
muttering to himself that someone else could service that table and
why did he have to put up with all the tempermental customers?
The measly tips were hardly worth it.
"You want to know, Shields?" she asked coldly, her icy stare
making him want to sink into his chair and just vanish. "You
really want to know? Very well, then. I'm angry because you - a
jumped-up gofer who thinks he can act just because he's done
some extra work and a few minor parts now and then - suddenly
and out of the blue, land a role that many actors would do damn
well anything to get; not to mention acting opposite of ME, besides!
I've worked my ass off getting to where I am today, and here you
are, totally inexperienced in acting major roles in movies of this
caliber.
"And why you? Oh, don't act like you don't know," she snapped,
pointing an accusing finger at him as his eyes began to look
anywhere but at her. "I think Anderson made it perfectly clear
that she and Van Holst only chose you just to piss me off. All that
talk about 'you said you thought an extra could do better'. Bull! I
may be a blonde, but I'm not stupid."
"Wait a minute!" Darien interjected when he finally got the chance.
It was hard trying to get a word in edgewise when she began to
rant. "I don't know where you get off calling me a 'gofer'. As I recall,
I was merely doing a favor by carrying that tray of drinks. Some of
the grips asked me if I could get them something since they were
busy lifting some heavy part of the set. Since I was on my way
there, I agreed to it. It wasn't my fault that one of the sound guys
chose that moment to pull tight on that audio cable, raising it so I
could trip over it. It wasn't my fault you were just turning the corner
and got hit with the drinks. I told you before, I was sorry and I'm
willing to make amends.
"As for being hired just to piss you off: I admit, that was one of
the reasons Amy said she and Melvin hired me," he continued.
"It wasn't the only one. Amy also said that she heard from my
agent, Mina Blake, that I've done good work as an extra and with
other various minor roles. She wanted to give me a chance at a
major role and see how I'd do. Not to sound arrogant or anything,
but both she and Melvin said that I did good, even though it was
an easy scene."
Serena sniffed loudly and dismissively. "A high school kid could
do that scene," she replied. "Still," she continued, her voice and
expression lightening, "I do have to admit that you weren't bad."
She spotted the waiter, who was trying his hardest NOT to be
seen by her, and gestured peremptorily for him to come to the
table. "Menus, please?" she asked in tone that was more like a
command than a request. The waiter gave an inward sigh, wishing
he had chosen to use his one remaining sick day today, nodded
respectfully and turned to bring menus. Darien thought he could
hear him grumbling to himself as he left.
"I suppose I can take that as a compliment," he said dryly.
She gave him a flat look. "Don't get used to it. Compliments from
me aren't given very often."
The waiter came back with a pair of menus and handed them to
Serena and Darien. Darien's eyes widened at the prices listed.
The least expensive item was close to fourteen dollars! Serena
ordered a seafood dish and salad while he contemplated on
whether or not he should just order a glass of water. Finally, he
decided on a relatively inexpensive steak. Inexpensive in
comparison to everything else, that is. This was gonna cost
him at least fourty dollars, not including the tip!
Through most of the meal, they ate in silence, mostly because
she didn't have anything to say to him. He tried to talk to her a
couple of times, but she only gave replies to his queries.
"Your hair looks really nice today, Serena," he told her with an
attempt at a charming smile.
She looked up from her salad at him and raised an eyebrow
questioningly. "Thank you, Shields," she replied with the barest
courtesy and resumed eating. So much for the hope of a return
compliment. Well, she was definitely right about her compliments
being rare.
"Serena," he tried again later, after she had ordered a desert:
an expensive - as if there was any other kind here - desert
that looked more like a combination of a melted chocolate bar
and a cupcake; some kind of fancy éclair, he thought. "Serena,
you don't have to keep referring to me as 'Shields'. I know
you're still upset at me, but would you at least call me Darien?
That IS my name, you know."
"Yes, I know that is your name...," she replied as she lifted
another piece of her desert to her mouth, grinning sardonically.
"...Shields." Darien sighed and gave up as he looked at the
check. Fourty-one dollars and fifty-eight cents. And he had to
pay it.
Ouch.
"I do hope you have enough, Shields," Serena said as she
pushed her chair back and stood, getting ready to leave.
Darien quickly stood as well, to be polite, as she turned her
back toward him. "I'm going to freshen up. Take care of that,
would you?" With that, she headed off for the ladies' restroom.
He grimaced as he picked up the check. 'A good thing I do
have enough, although I may have to cut back on my
groceries this week.' He glanced at the total again. 'The
minium fifteen percent tip should be around six and a half
dollars. I've already spent enough as it is.'
The cashier wasn't too far away. He walked over, carrying
the check in one hand and most of his money in the other.
The cashier was very frank and impersonal - which suited
Darien, since he really didn't feel like talking right now. He
just took the check, entered the total, took Darien's money
and returned his change. The only words he spoke was the
check total and the amount of change. He didn't even bother
to look at him. Obviously he else was having a bad day, so
Darien just took his money and left.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Serena leaving the
restaurant. She didn't even bother to thank him for paying
for her lunch - not that he was surprised; she probably
considered it a down payment on what he already owed her.
He continued over to the table and paused in surprise.
A ten-dollar bill was left on the table.
Darien blinked; no, it was still there. Okay, so he wasn't
seeing things. She may have made him pay the bill, but at
least she gave the tip. Maybe that was her 'thank you'.
Feeling a little better, Darien turned and left the restaurant,
feeling quite pleased with himself.
If the day so far was any indication, at the rate things were
going, maybe Serena Moon would one day even treat him
with respect instead of scorn. A smirk crossed his lips.
Yeah, and maybe he'd start dressing up in tuxedos and start
flinging roses at people, too. Chuckling to himself at the
mental image, he got into his car, turned on the radio,
slipped on his shades and drove back towards the studio.
Things were definitely looking better.
**********************************************
To Chapter 8
**********************************************
Author's Note: Well, that was an interesting 'first date', now
wasn't it? Things are starting to go more smoothly for Darien,
but I've just started to mess with him. ^_~ but, the day is far from
over and there's more movie to shoot. Next chapter: Amy and G.Q.
discuss the movie script... and a few other things; Melvin loses
his lunch; and a group of items from Sailor Moon makes a guest
appearance in 'Total Eclipse': the Nijizuishou, otherwise known
as the Rainbow Crystals. ^_~
Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.
Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.
Chapter 7
Darien strode to his car, feeling quite pleased with himself.
He had made a good impression on both Amy and Melvin. He
opened the door, slid in and closed it. As his hand reached
for the belt over his left should, it paused as a stray thought
came to mind.
Serena Moon had stormed off as if she was angry at him. Of
course, that wasn't anything new, but she had stormed off
before commenting on his first scene, at least to him. He had
received a second-hand complement from her, delivered by
Amy, but it seemed to have been edited of its content. Perhaps
the compliment was given backhandedly in the middle of another
slight on his part. He sighed. Would she never be satisfied?
Was she going to stay mad at him during the entire shoot?
Forever? If he was going to get any peace during the time he
would be working with Serena, he had to make amends...
somehow.
A flash of a white convertable crossed his rearview mirror; twin
blonde ponytails flying in the breeze as Serena drove off the
set. Without thinking, Darien finished buckling his seat belt and
started the car. He backed up, straightened the wheel, and
proceeded to follow the white convertable... at a safe following
distance, of course. No need to show her that someone was
following.
After a short stop at the security gate to show the guard that
he now had his temporary ID card, he was out on the main
street, tailing Serena with four cars between them at all times.
As an added percaution, he wore a pair of thin-wire sunglasses,
which he always left in his car. If she were to glance back at
him when there were no cars between them, a short glance
wouldn't give him away... or, at least he hoped it wouldn't.
A few minutes later, Serena's car stopped at one of the most
expensive restaurants in the city. Darien grimaced at her
choice of dining establishments; he could barely afford to eat
there, that is, if he could manage to get in. The reservation list
was usually full.
Serena walked over to the entrance, paused, and turned toward
his car and flashed him a triumphant smile. She knew. More than
likely, she knew all along. Damn. Grumbling under his breath, he
opened the door and stepped out. As soon as he did, she folded
her arms and frowned as she stared at him.
He blinked in surprise. Was she actually waiting for him? Before
he could take one step toward her, she tossed her head, her
ponytails whipping about like a pair of whips, and stalked inside.
Darien quickly ran after her.
"Wait!" he called as he burst through the door. Serena was just
being shown to her usual table as he came in. Before he could
follow, the maître d' stopped him short.
"Reservation?" he asked in a haughty voice. Fleetingly, Darien
wondered if all maître d's of high-class restaurants were required
to speak in such an annoying voice.
"Um... yes," Darien lied, pointing a finger at a random name on
the reservation list with barely a glance. "See there it is. Now, if
you'll excuse me, I must speak with Miss Moon...." He tried to
walk past him, but failed when he caught Darien by his arm.
"Really?" the maître d' asked in an amused tone. "Well, 'Miss
Patricia Deveraux', you've certainly changed since the last time
I've seen you," he continued in a condesending tone. "Would you like
to try another name... sir?"
"This one?" Darien asked, picking another name - male, this time.
"That gentleman is already seated at table 27."
"This one?"
"Table 4."
"This one?"
"Mr. Masterson has grey in his hair."
"This one?"
"Mr. Tomas is a blonde."
"This one?"
"Alex Winters? No, that would be Miss Alexandra Winters to
you."
Darien was growing impatient. One quick glance over his shoulder
at Serena's face showed that she was enjoying every minute of
this. Perhaps she asked the maître d' to give him a hard time. No
wonder he hadn't thrown him out yet. "This one?"
"That's my brother." He gave Darien a small grin. "You're lucky
you're not as ugly as he is."
"All right, then," Darien sighed, reaching into his pocket.
"Perhaps you recognize the name...." He paused to glance
down at which dollar bills he had pulled out. He knew he had a
ten, some twenties, and a fifty, but he forgot what order they
were in. As soon as he saw which bill he had pulled out, he
glanced up at the maître d' and opened his mouth to speak.
"It's all right, Stephan," Serena said, now standing next to Darien
and smirking at him, "he's with me... for now."
"As you wish, Miss Moon," Stephan replied stiffly, obviously
upset that he was cheated out of a gratuity.
"Don't think I did this just so you'd get out of bribing Stephan,"
Serena said sternly as she and Darien went to her table. As soon
as she sat down, she gave him a mischevious, cat-like grin. "You'll
need your money. After all, this is an expensive restaurant you're
treating me to."
"Wh... WHAT?!?" Darien blurted out incredulously as he sat down
hard at the table.
Serena's grin widened. "Why else would you be following me?"
she asked, waving her hand nonchalantly. "By the way, those
shades couldn't fool a six year-old," she said with a derisive smirk.
She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her
chest, giving him a measuring glance with one eyebrow raised as
Darien shiften uncomfortably in his chair. "Seriously, though," she
said in a normal, questioning tone, "why did you follow me? I would
think you'd want to stay far away from me as possible. I know I'd
prefer that, though I must admit, I'm curious as to the reason why
you did."
Darien swallowed and cleared his throat before he began. She
raised an eyebrow at that, as if she was annoyed at the action.
"Well, Miss Moon, first of all, I wanted to apologize for what
happened the first time we met...." He grimaced at the angry
tightening of her eyes as she very well knew what he was talking
about. The waiter assigned to the table walked up, took one look
at Serena, and decided to come back later. Darien didn't blame
him; right now, he didn't want to be there, either.
"I really didn't get a chance to apologize for almost completely
ruining your dress before I was... asked to leave." Thrown off,
was more like it. "I do intend to make it up to you."
"How?" she asked, her tightly controlled anger evident in her cool
voice.
He took a deep breath and sighed mentally. She wasn't going to
forgive him easily, but for the sake of not having to go through a
living hell for at least the next two weeks, this had to be done.
Besides, he felt he owed this to her. He had to set things right or
he'd never have any peace... especially not with her.
"By whatever reasonable means you decide," he simply stated.
Serena blinked in surprise, though she kept her expression neutral.
'Why is he doing this?' she wondered, considering the dark-haired,
blue-eyed man sitting in front of him. 'Why is he willing to do all this
just to earn my forgiveness? Did I really scare him THAT much?'
She paused in her thoughts. "That couldn't be it. I've done worse to
others and they've never done anything for me. Does he really think
I'm going to ride him during the whole two weeks?' Another pause.
'Well, I did want him to think that, didn't I? Maybe I'm being a little too
hard on him. But, still, that's no reason for me to go easy on him,
either. Especially since I've been forced to have him play opposite
of me.' She paused again, studying the slightly apprehensive way
he was looking everywhere except at her. 'But maybe, I think I'll
lighten up... just a little.'
"Okay, Shields," she answered finally. Darien turned his attention
back towards her. "I'll accept that offer. I won't decide right away
how you'll make it up to me, but I'll will let you know when I decide.
Are we agreed on that?"
"Yes," he said in a very relieved voice. "Agreed."
"Was that all you had to say?" she asked.
"No, there's more," he replied. "I also wanted to know why you're
so angry at me. I mean, ruining a designer dress seems to me to
be such a small thing to be so upset about...." He stopped short as
the fierce angry glare returned.
The waiter had returned again, carrying a pair of menus in his arm.
He noted Serena's expression, stopped, and turned back again,
muttering to himself that someone else could service that table and
why did he have to put up with all the tempermental customers?
The measly tips were hardly worth it.
"You want to know, Shields?" she asked coldly, her icy stare
making him want to sink into his chair and just vanish. "You
really want to know? Very well, then. I'm angry because you - a
jumped-up gofer who thinks he can act just because he's done
some extra work and a few minor parts now and then - suddenly
and out of the blue, land a role that many actors would do damn
well anything to get; not to mention acting opposite of ME, besides!
I've worked my ass off getting to where I am today, and here you
are, totally inexperienced in acting major roles in movies of this
caliber.
"And why you? Oh, don't act like you don't know," she snapped,
pointing an accusing finger at him as his eyes began to look
anywhere but at her. "I think Anderson made it perfectly clear
that she and Van Holst only chose you just to piss me off. All that
talk about 'you said you thought an extra could do better'. Bull! I
may be a blonde, but I'm not stupid."
"Wait a minute!" Darien interjected when he finally got the chance.
It was hard trying to get a word in edgewise when she began to
rant. "I don't know where you get off calling me a 'gofer'. As I recall,
I was merely doing a favor by carrying that tray of drinks. Some of
the grips asked me if I could get them something since they were
busy lifting some heavy part of the set. Since I was on my way
there, I agreed to it. It wasn't my fault that one of the sound guys
chose that moment to pull tight on that audio cable, raising it so I
could trip over it. It wasn't my fault you were just turning the corner
and got hit with the drinks. I told you before, I was sorry and I'm
willing to make amends.
"As for being hired just to piss you off: I admit, that was one of
the reasons Amy said she and Melvin hired me," he continued.
"It wasn't the only one. Amy also said that she heard from my
agent, Mina Blake, that I've done good work as an extra and with
other various minor roles. She wanted to give me a chance at a
major role and see how I'd do. Not to sound arrogant or anything,
but both she and Melvin said that I did good, even though it was
an easy scene."
Serena sniffed loudly and dismissively. "A high school kid could
do that scene," she replied. "Still," she continued, her voice and
expression lightening, "I do have to admit that you weren't bad."
She spotted the waiter, who was trying his hardest NOT to be
seen by her, and gestured peremptorily for him to come to the
table. "Menus, please?" she asked in tone that was more like a
command than a request. The waiter gave an inward sigh, wishing
he had chosen to use his one remaining sick day today, nodded
respectfully and turned to bring menus. Darien thought he could
hear him grumbling to himself as he left.
"I suppose I can take that as a compliment," he said dryly.
She gave him a flat look. "Don't get used to it. Compliments from
me aren't given very often."
The waiter came back with a pair of menus and handed them to
Serena and Darien. Darien's eyes widened at the prices listed.
The least expensive item was close to fourteen dollars! Serena
ordered a seafood dish and salad while he contemplated on
whether or not he should just order a glass of water. Finally, he
decided on a relatively inexpensive steak. Inexpensive in
comparison to everything else, that is. This was gonna cost
him at least fourty dollars, not including the tip!
Through most of the meal, they ate in silence, mostly because
she didn't have anything to say to him. He tried to talk to her a
couple of times, but she only gave replies to his queries.
"Your hair looks really nice today, Serena," he told her with an
attempt at a charming smile.
She looked up from her salad at him and raised an eyebrow
questioningly. "Thank you, Shields," she replied with the barest
courtesy and resumed eating. So much for the hope of a return
compliment. Well, she was definitely right about her compliments
being rare.
"Serena," he tried again later, after she had ordered a desert:
an expensive - as if there was any other kind here - desert
that looked more like a combination of a melted chocolate bar
and a cupcake; some kind of fancy éclair, he thought. "Serena,
you don't have to keep referring to me as 'Shields'. I know
you're still upset at me, but would you at least call me Darien?
That IS my name, you know."
"Yes, I know that is your name...," she replied as she lifted
another piece of her desert to her mouth, grinning sardonically.
"...Shields." Darien sighed and gave up as he looked at the
check. Fourty-one dollars and fifty-eight cents. And he had to
pay it.
Ouch.
"I do hope you have enough, Shields," Serena said as she
pushed her chair back and stood, getting ready to leave.
Darien quickly stood as well, to be polite, as she turned her
back toward him. "I'm going to freshen up. Take care of that,
would you?" With that, she headed off for the ladies' restroom.
He grimaced as he picked up the check. 'A good thing I do
have enough, although I may have to cut back on my
groceries this week.' He glanced at the total again. 'The
minium fifteen percent tip should be around six and a half
dollars. I've already spent enough as it is.'
The cashier wasn't too far away. He walked over, carrying
the check in one hand and most of his money in the other.
The cashier was very frank and impersonal - which suited
Darien, since he really didn't feel like talking right now. He
just took the check, entered the total, took Darien's money
and returned his change. The only words he spoke was the
check total and the amount of change. He didn't even bother
to look at him. Obviously he else was having a bad day, so
Darien just took his money and left.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Serena leaving the
restaurant. She didn't even bother to thank him for paying
for her lunch - not that he was surprised; she probably
considered it a down payment on what he already owed her.
He continued over to the table and paused in surprise.
A ten-dollar bill was left on the table.
Darien blinked; no, it was still there. Okay, so he wasn't
seeing things. She may have made him pay the bill, but at
least she gave the tip. Maybe that was her 'thank you'.
Feeling a little better, Darien turned and left the restaurant,
feeling quite pleased with himself.
If the day so far was any indication, at the rate things were
going, maybe Serena Moon would one day even treat him
with respect instead of scorn. A smirk crossed his lips.
Yeah, and maybe he'd start dressing up in tuxedos and start
flinging roses at people, too. Chuckling to himself at the
mental image, he got into his car, turned on the radio,
slipped on his shades and drove back towards the studio.
Things were definitely looking better.
**********************************************
To Chapter 8
**********************************************
Author's Note: Well, that was an interesting 'first date', now
wasn't it? Things are starting to go more smoothly for Darien,
but I've just started to mess with him. ^_~ but, the day is far from
over and there's more movie to shoot. Next chapter: Amy and G.Q.
discuss the movie script... and a few other things; Melvin loses
his lunch; and a group of items from Sailor Moon makes a guest
appearance in 'Total Eclipse': the Nijizuishou, otherwise known
as the Rainbow Crystals. ^_~
Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.
Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.